During
the first half of World War II General Douglas MacArthur was forced to leave
the Philippines in the Pacific Theater by the Japanese. Upon his departure he
made a promise to the Philippino people: " I will return." General MacArthur,
through the strength and power of the American military was able to keep his
promise. If humanity can make and keep promises of rescue and deliverance, how
much more will our great God keep the glorious and incomparable promises He has
made in His Word! Indeed, He has told us that He will one day return and
fulfill the great and many promises about the glorious future in store for
those who know Him as their Savior.
Why
are promises important to God? Promises are important to God' s plan for
history, because God keeps His word. History is a record of God' s faithfulness
to keep His promises. Thus, God delights in making seemingly impossible
promises so that He, through the most difficult circumstances, demonstrates
that He keeps His promises. Think of God' s record of faithfulness next time
you are tempted by circumstances to go back on your word. There are three
great promises that God has made to His people that I want to examine in this
chapter. These promises are Israel' s permanence, Christ' s second coming, and
eternal life to all believers.
Promise of Israel' s
Permanence
Scripture
makes it clear that God' s integrity in history revolves around His chosen
people Israel. It is through Israel that God has chosen to leave His mark
through out history. It is through Israel that God gave His Law, founded a
nation, caused His presence to dwell, mediated His Word, and sent the Savior of
the world. It will be through Israel in the future that God will work to
preach the gospel through out the whole world, invoke the second coming, reign
for a thousand years in Jerusalem, and place His eternal glory. Thus, God' s
promise to Israel is that they have an eternal permanence in history and
throughout eternity. The Lord says through Jeremiah
Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order of the moon and the
stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name: Lord If this fixed order departs from
before Me," declares the Lord,
" then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me
forever." (Jeremiah 31:35- 36)
Most
American evangelical Christians today have a high view of Jews and the modern
state of Israel because of the positive influence of the dispensational
premillennial view that national Israel has a future in the plan of God. Yet,
there are those within Chrisendom who deny that Israel has a permanent place in
the plan of God. This view is known as replacement theology.
What
is replacement theology? Replacement theology is the view that the Church has
permanently replaced Israel as the instrument through which God works and that
national Israel does not have a future in the plan of God. Some replacement
theologians may believe that individual Jews will be converted and enter into
the church (something that we all believe), but they do not believe that God
will literally fulfill the dozens of Old Testament promises to a converted
national Israel in the future. For example, reconstructionist David Chilton
says that " ethnic Israel was excommunicated for its apostasy and will never
again be God' s Kingdom." [1] Chilton says again, " the Bible does not tell of
any future plan for Israel as a special nation." [2] Reconstructionist patriarch, R. J. Rushdoony
uses the strongest language when he declares,
The
fall of Jerusalem, and the public rejection of physical Israel as the chosen
people of God, meant also the deliverance of the true people of God, the church
of Christ, the elect, out of the bondage to Israel and Jerusalem, . . .[3]
A
further heresy clouds premillennial interpretations of Scripture- their
exaltation of racism into a divine principle. Every attempt to bring the Jew
back into prophecy as a Jew is to give race and works (for racial descent is a human work) a priority over grace and Christ' s work and is nothing more or less than paganism. . . .
There can be no compromise with this vicious heresy.[4]
The
Road to Holocaust
Replacement
theology and its view that Israel is finished in history nationally has been
responsible for producing theological anti-Semitism in the church. History
records that such a theology, when combined with the right social and political
climate, has produced and allowed anti-Semitism to flourish. This was a point
made by Hal Lindsey in The Road to Holocaust, to which reconstructionists cried foul. A book
was written to rebut Lindsey by Jewish reconstructionist Steve Schlissel.
Strangely, Schlissel' s book (Hal Lindsey & The Restoration of the Jews) ended up supporting Lindsey' s thesis that
replacement theology produced anti-Semitism in the past and could in the
future. Schlissel seems to share Lindsey' s basic view on the rise and
development of anti-Semitism within the history of the church. After giving
his readers an overview of the history of anti-Semitism through Origen,
Augustine, Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Jerome, Schlissel then quotes approvingly
Raul Hilberg' s famous quote featured in Lindsey' s Holocaust.
Viewing
the plight of the Jews in Christian lands from the fourth century to the recent
holocaust, one Jew observed, " First we were told ' You' re not good enough to
live among us as Jews.' Then we were told, ' You' re not good enough to live
among us.' Finally we were told, ' You' re not good enough to live.' " [5]
Schlissel
then comments approvingly upon Hilberg' s statement,
This
devastatingly accurate historical analysis was the fruit of an error, a
building of prejudice and hate erected upon a false theological foundation.
The blindness of the church regarding the place of the Jew in redemptive
history is, I believe, directly responsible for the wicked sins and attitudes
described above. What the church believes about the Jews has always made a
difference. But the church has not always believed a lie.[6]
The
truth, noted by Schlissel, is what his other reconstructionist brethren deny.
What Schlissel has called a lie is the replacement theology that his
reconstructionist brethren advocate. Their form of replacement theology is the
problem. Schlissel goes on to show that the Reformed church of Europe, after
the Reformation, widely adopted the belief that God' s future plan for Israel
includes a national restoration of Israel. Many even taught that Israel would
one day rebuild her Temple. For his Reformed brethren to arrive at such
conclusions meant that they were interpreting the Old Testament promises to
Israel literally, at least some of them. This shift from replacement theology
to a national future for Israel resulted in a decline in persecution of the
Jews in many Reformed communities and increased efforts in Jewish evangelism.
Schlissel notes:
the
change in the fortune of the Jews in Western civilization can be traced, not to
humanism, but to the Reformed faith. The rediscovery of Scripture brought a
rekindling of the Biblical conviction that God had not, in fact, fully nor
finally rejected His people.[7]
Yet
Schlissel is concerned that his Reformed brethren are abandoning this future
national hope for Israel as they currently reassert a strong view of
replacement theology.
Whatever views
were maintained as to Israel' s political restoration, their spiritual future
was simply a given in Reformed circles. Ironically, this sure and certain hope
is not a truth kept burning brightly in many Christian Reformed Churches today,
. . . In fact, their future conversion aside, the Jews' very existence is
rarely referred to today, and even then it is not with much grace or balance.[8]
This extract
establishes that the " spiritualized" notion of " Israel" in Rom 11:25, 26, was
known to and rejected by the
body of Dutch expositors. . . .
Since the turn of
the century, most modern Dutch Reformed, following Kuyper and Bavinck, reject
this historic position.[9]
Reconstructionist
Schlissel seems to think that part of the reason why many of his Reformed
brethren are returning to replacement theology is due to their reaction to the
strong emphasis of a future for Israel as a nation found within dispensational
premillennialism. Yet, dispensational premillennialism developed within the
Reformed tradition as many began to consistently take all the Old Testament
promises that were yet fulfilled for Israel as still valid for a future Jewish
nation. Schlissel complains:
just a century ago all classes of Reformed interpreters held to the
certainty of the future conversion of Israel as a nation. How they have come, to a frightening extent,
to depart from their historic positions regarding the certainty of Israel' s
future conversion is not our subject here. . . . the hope of the future
conversion of the Jews became closely linked, at the turn of the century and
beyond, with Premillennial Dispensationalism, an eschatological heresy. This,
necessarily, one might say, soon became bound up and confused with Zionism.
Christians waxed loud about the return of the Jews to Israel being a portent
that the Second Coming is nigh. It thus seemed impossible, for many, to
distinguish between the spiritual hope of Israel and their political " hope."
Many Reformed, therefore, abandoned both.[10]
Historical
Development
As
it should be, the nature of Israel' s future became the watershed issue in
biblical interpretation which caused a polarization of positions that we find
today. As Schlissel noted, " all classes of Reformed interpreters held to the
certainty of the future conversion of Israel as a nation." Today most Reformed
interpreters do not hold such a view. Why? Early in the systemization of any
theological position the issues are undeveloped and less clear than later when
the consistency of various positions are worked out. Thus it is natural for
the mature understanding of any theological issue to lead to polarization of
viewpoints as a result of interaction and debate between positions. The
earlier Reformed position to which Schlissel refers included a blend of some
Old Testament passages that were taken literally (i.e., those teaching a future
conversion of Israel as a nation) and some that were not (i.e., details of
Israel' s place of dominance during a future period of history). On the one
hand, as time passed, those who stressed a literal understanding of Israel from
the Old Testament became much more consistent in applying such an approach to
all passages relating to Israel' s destiny. On the other hand, those who
thought literalism was taken too far retreated from whatever degree of
literalness they did have and argued that the church fulfills Israel' s
promises, thus there was no need for a national Israel in the future. Further,
non-literal interpretation was viewed as the tool with which liberals denied
the essentials of the faith. Thus, by World War II dispensationalism had come
to virtually dominate evangelicals who saw literal interpretation of the Bible
as a primary support for orthodoxy.
After
World War II many of the battles between fundamentalism and liberalism began to
wane. Such an environment allowed for less stigma attached to non literal
interpretation within conservative circles. Thus, by the ' 70s, not having
learned the lessons of history, we began to see the revival of many prophetic
views that were returning to blends of literal and spiritual interpretation.
As conservative postmillennialism has risen from near extinction in recent
years, it did not return to the mixed hermeneutics of 100 years ago, which
Schlissel longs for, but instead, it has been wedded with preterism in hopes
that it can combat the logic of dispensational futurism. Schlissel' s Reformed
brethren do not appear to be concerned that, in preterism, they have revived a
brand of eschatology which includes one of the most hard-core forms of
replacement theology. And they do not appear convinced or concerned that
replacement theology has a history of producing theological anti-Semitism when
mixed with the right social and political conditions.
The
Modern State of Israel
The
fact that the last fifty years has seen a world-wide regathering and
reestablishment of the nation of Israel, which is now poised in just the
setting required for the revealing of the Antichrist and the start of the
tribulation, is God' s grand indicator that all of the other areas of world
development are prophetically significant. Dr. Walvoord says,
Of
the many peculiar phenomena which characterize the present generation,: few
events can claim equal significance as far as Biblical prophecy is concerned
with that of the return of Israel to their land. It constitutes a preparation
for the end of the age, the setting for the coming of the Lord for His church,
and the fulfillment of Israel's prophetic destiny.[11]
Israel,
God' s " super-sign" of the end times is a clear indicator that time is growing
shorter with each passing hour. God is preparing the world for the final
events leading up to Israel' s national regeneration.
What
one believes about the future of Israel is of utmost importance to one's
understanding of the Bible. I believe, without a shadow of doubt, that Old
Testament promises made to national Israel will literally be fulfilled in the
future. This means the Bible teaches that God will return the Jews to their
land before the tribulation begins (Isaiah 11:11- 12:6; Ezekiel 20:33-44;
22:17-22; Zephaniah 2:1-3). This has been accomplished and the stage is set as
a result of the current existence of the modern state of Israel. The Bible
also indicates that before Israel enters into her time of national blessing she
must first pass through the fire of the tribulation (Deuteronomy 4:30;
Jeremiah. 30:5-9; Daniel 12:1; Zephaniah 1:14-18). Even though the horrors of
the Holocaust under Hitler were of an unimaginable magnitude, the Bible teaches
that a time of even greater trial awaits Israel during the tribulation.
Anti-Semitism will reach new heights, this time global in scope, in which
two-thirds of world Jewry will be killed (Zechariah 13:7-9; Revelation 12).
Through this time God will protect His remnant so that before His second advent
"all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:36). In fact, the second
coming will include the purpose of God's physical rescue of Israel from world
persecution during Armageddon (Daniel 12:1; Zechariah 12-14; Matthew 24:29-31;
Revelation 19:11-21).
If
national Israel is a historical "has been," then all of this is
obviously wrong. However, the Bible says she has a future and world events
will revolve around that tiny nation at the center of the earth. The world's
focus already is upon Israel. God has preserved His people for a reason and it
is not all bad. In spite of the fact that history is progressing along the
lines of God's ordained pattern for Israel, we see the revival of replacement
theology within conservative circles that will no doubt be used in the future
to fuel the fires of anti-Semitism, as it has in the past. Your view of the
future of national Israel is not just an academic exercise.
Promise of Christ' s
Second Coming
Even
though we now live in a secular society, a recent poll by U. S. News &
World Report found that a
majority of Americans still believe that Jesus Christ will return:
Belief in apocalyptic prophecies is not just a
phenomenon of the religious fringe. According to a recent U. S. News poll, 66 percent of Americans, including a third
of those who say they never go attend church, say they believe that Jesus
Christ will return to Earth someday- an increase from the 61 percent who
expressed belief in the Second Coming three years ago.[12]
Though
many may not realize its significance, the return of Jesus Christ to planet
Earth is the most important event that will occur in the future. But what do
we know about the coming of Christ? Is it only a heart-felt hope and
historical hype, or do we have a clear and certain word from God on this event?
The
prophetic promise of the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth is the subject
of many passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. What are
some of the more prominent texts? They include some of the following:
Deuteronomy 30:3; Psalm 2; Isaiah 63:1-6; Daniel 2:44-45; 7:13-14; Zechariah
14:1-4; Matthew 24- 25; Mark 13; Luke 21; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 11:26; 1
Thessalonians 3:13; 5:1-4; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-2:12; 2 Peter 2:1-3:17; Jude
14-15; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-21.
Probably
the most graphic portrayal of Christ's second coming is found in Revelation
19:11-21. In this extended passage Jesus Christ is described as leading a
procession of angels and saints or armies in heaven to claim the earth, destroy
the armies of the world, and defeat the Antichrist and False Prophet.
And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white
horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness
He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head
are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except
Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called
The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes
a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them
with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God,
the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, " KING
OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he
cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven,
" Come, assemble for the great supper of God; in order that you may eat the
flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the
flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both
free men and slaves, and small and great." And I saw the beast and the kings
of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon
the horse, and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the
false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived
those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his
image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with
brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth
of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
(Revelation 19:11- 21)
The passage above shows that Christ's return will be one that
entails great physical destruction and many deaths. For those who are not
Christ's own, it will be a terrifying and terrible event. For those of us who
know Him as their Savior, it will be a time of great joy, vindication, and
anticipation.
The
Bible depicts the career of Christ as revolving around two major aspects.
Titus 2:11- 14 speaks of Christ' s two appearances on earth.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires
and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the
blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ
Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed
and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
(Titus 2:11- 14)
The
first phase is related to His coming in humiliation to die for the sins of
mankind. The second phase is when He will come in power and glory to reign
over all mankind. Hebrews 9:28 is a single verse that explains and contrasts
Christ' s two comings. The writer of Hebrews says "so Christ also, having
been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for
salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him."
Jesus is coming again. This is a glorious promise and hope for all believers.
The
future is not all gloom and doom. It holds trials of an unprecedented nature
in human history, but it also contains the glorious return of Jesus Christ to
establish his righteous reign in preparation for the eternal state. The
history of the Old Testament era was one of expectation for the first coming of
the Messiah. The history of the New Testament and our own era is one of
expectation for the second coming of Messiah. Such an expectation is voiced
when we pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." His kingdom will
come when Christ returns and all of creation will acknowledge Jesus Christ, the
hope of history. Let's see what the Bible says about that coming!
Promise of Eternal
Life
Eternal
life is the gift of God given to all who believe in Jesus Christ and have
accepted His offer of salvation based upon His death and resurrection (John
10:10; Ephesians 2:8-9). In the Bible, eternal life emphasizes a quality of
life, a quality that can only be imparted by God Himself. This life does not,
of course, make us God, we are and will always remain creatures, however, it is
a quality of life that comes from the God who has the quality of eternality.
Therefore, eternal life should not be confused with endless or eternal existence
which everyone will experience. Eternal existence will be common to the
redeemed and the unredeemed, but the destinies will be very different.
Christians will enter into heaven and the presence of God; unbelievers will be
cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11- 15).
For
those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are given the
promise of eternal life the moment we believe. John says, " the witness is
this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who
has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the
life" (1 John 5:11- 13). If you have trusted in Christ, then you have eternal
life in the present which will continue throughout eternity in heaven for the
believer. Believers have the hope of eternal life in heave with our Lord for
eternity.
Heaven
is very real. In an age of fantasy, special effects, mysticism, and spiritual
apathy it's easy for heaven to be misrepresented. Yet, the Bible is very clear
about the existence and purpose of heaven. Heaven and the eternal state are
part of God's plan for the ages and therefore, heaven and eternal life are
integrally related. There would not be much point in experiencing eternity if
the quality of life were not worth looking forward to. This will be the case
for those who will dwell for eternity in the Lake of Fire. But since we will
spend eternity living out our eternal life in heaven, free from sin, and in the
presence of our Lord, then heaven and the presence of God is what makes eternal
life worth while.
The Bible describes eternal life in heaven as
full of joy, purposeful activity, and worship. When we think of eternity, it' s
easy to wonder if we will get bored in heaven and discontented. However, the
biblical glimpses are not ones of boredom and disinterest. The Bible speaks of
at least six activities in heaven: worship, service, authority, fellowship,
learning, and rest. Therefore, eternal life lived in heaven will consist of
worship without distraction, service without exhaustion, authority without
failure, fellowship without suspicion, learning without suspicion, and resting
without boredom. What glorious things our Lord has promised to His people!
Conclusion
Anyone
familiar with God' s word knows that He has a wonderful plan for history and His
people. These are indeed glorious and incomparable promises through which He
implements His plan. What should the response of the believer be to God' s
promises? The Psalmist rightly advises, " What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I
shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:12- 13). In the New
Testament, our Lord was quizzed by the multitude in Capernaum when they said as
follows: " They said therefore to Him, ' What shall we do, that we may work the
works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, ' this is the work of God, that
you believe in Him whom He has sent' " (John 6:28- 29). Is this not what our
Lord has wanted since the Garden of Eden- that we believe and trust His precious
promises? Certainly He has spoken, surely it will come to pass.
When
we think about the significance of the glorious promises that our Lord has in
store for us as His people we respond with a thankful heart. Let us remember
that for the believer this present life if the worse things will ever be for
us. But, for the unbeliever, this present life will be the best they will ever
experience. Let us claim the precious promises that He has made to us in the
present so that He will make us fit for eternity.
